More than 1,300 foreigners barred from entering Ukraine

Entry into Ukraine is prohibited for more than 1,300 foreign citizens because of illegal visits to the occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine has reported.

"Since the beginning of the year, more than 2,000 administrative protocols have been drawn up ... for violation of the entry procedure to the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine and departure from it. In addition, more than 1,300 decisions have been made to prohibit foreigners from entering Ukraine for such violations, including almost a hundred artists and cultural figures. According to the monitoring results, more than 800 people were identified who may have been in the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea," the State Border Guard Service said on Facebook on Thursday morning.

The department notes that in accordance with the law, in the event of violation of the rules of crossing the administrative border with Crimea by foreigners, they are not allowed to enter Ukraine. In addition, the State Border Guard Service draws attention to the fact that violation of the entry procedure into the temporarily occupied Crimea through the checkpoints closed by the government of Ukraine provides for criminal or administrative responsibility, depending on the circumstances.